Today in History

Thursday

Today is Thursday, Oct. 25, the 298th day of 2018. There are 67 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 25, 1760, Britain’s King George III succeeded his late grandfather, George II.

On this date:

In 1854, the "Charge of the Light Brigade" took place during the Crimean War as an English brigade of more than 600 men charged the Russian army, suffering heavy losses.

In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown went on trial in Charles Town, Va., for his failed raid at Harpers Ferry. (Brown was convicted and hanged.)

In 1910, "America the Beautiful," with words by Katharine Lee Bates and music by Samuel A. Ward, was first published.

In 1945, Taiwan became independent of Japanese colonial rule.

In 1954, a meeting of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Cabinet was carried live on radio and television; to date, it’s the only presidential Cabinet meeting to be broadcast.

In 1962, during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson II demanded that Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin confirm or deny the existence of Soviet-built missile bases in Cuba; Stevenson then presented photographic evidence of the bases to the Council.

In 1971, the U.N. General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan.

In 1983, a U.S.-led force invaded Grenada at the order of President Ronald Reagan, who said the action was needed to protect U.S. citizens there.

In 1986, in Game 6 of the World Series, the Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Mets, 6-5, on a wild pitch and an error in the tenth inning, forcing a seventh game, which the Mets ended up winning.

In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, claimed that a black carjacker had driven off with her two young sons (Smith later confessed to drowning the children in John D. Long Lake, and was convicted of murder). Three defendants were convicted in South Africa of murdering American exchange student Amy Biehl. In 1998, all three were granted amnesty by South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In 2001, a day after the House signed on, the Senate sent President Bush the U-S-A Patriot Act, a package of anti-terror measures giving police sweeping new powers to search people’s homes and business records secretly and to eavesdrop on telephone and computer conversations.

In 2002, U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., was killed in a plane crash in northern Minnesota along with his wife, daughter and five others, a week and a-half before the election. Actor Richard Harris died in London at age 72.

Ten years ago: Arkansas television anchorwoman Anne Pressly, 26, died five days after she was found beaten in her home. Game 3 of the World Series began in Philadelphia at 10:06 p.m. Eastern time after being delayed by rain; the Phillies went on to beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4, for a 2-1 Series lead in a matchup that finished at 1:47 a.m.

Five years ago: Indignant at reports of U.S. electronic espionage overseas, the leaders of France and Germany said they would insist the Obama administration agree by year’s end to limits that could put an end to alleged American eavesdropping on foreign leaders, businesses and innocent civilians. Death claimed British actor Nigel Davenport, 85, Hollywood stunt double Hal Needham, 82, and actress-comedian Marcia Wallace, 70.

One year ago: Two women who said they had been lost at sea for nearly six months were rescued by a U.S. Navy ship in the Pacific. (The women said they had set out from Honolulu for what was supposed to be an 18-day journey to Tahiti in May but that they encountered a storm; records showed no severe weather in the area at the time, and other inconsistencies in their story came to light in the days after their rescue.) CBS News named correspondent Jeff Glor as anchor of the "CBS Evening News." The U.S. government announced that all incoming flights to the United States would be subject to new security screening procedures before takeoff.